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BY JOE CARLSON
jcarlson@nwitimes.com
219.662.5339 | Tuesday, December 05, 2006 | (No comments posted.)
EAST CHICAGO | As of Friday night, Gus Kouros was no longer an East Chicago city councilman.
After 40 years in office, Kouros abruptly tendered his resignation last month, saying he would resign Dec. 31 in order to spend more time with his family.
On Friday, however, Kouros submitted a new resignation letter to city officials and the county Democratic Party, saying he would step down at 5 p.m. Dec. 1.
City Democratic Party Chairman Anthony Copeland said Kouros told him in a conversation that Kouros' friends and colleagues urged him to step down sooner to accommodate family travel over the holidays.
By moving up his resignation one month, Kouros ensures the seat will be filled for any important business the City Council might face in early January. East Chicago City Council President Rich Medina denied a rumor the resignation had been timed so that he would not face a 4-4 split vote on his council presidency next year.
Kouros did not return calls for comment Monday.
Unlike Kouros' first resignation announcement, the one last week went to leaders in the party and city before it became publicly known. County Democratic Party Chairman Rudy Clay also confirmed he had received notice of Kouros' Dec. 1 resignation.
Kouros announced his resignation plans days before The Times ran articles saying it did not appear he lived in the city, based on visits to his house and comments from neighbors, colleagues and precinct officials and in spite of voter registration and council residency requirements.
The city party has 30 days from Dec. 1 to appoint a successor to fill Kouros' vacant seat. The successor will be appointed by a majority vote of the six precinct committeemen in the city's 2nd District, with ties broken by the county party chairman.
Any registered Democrat who is a resident of the city's 2nd District is eligible to apply for the seat. To apply, applicants must go to the county party headquarters in the Twin Towers in Merrillville and fill out a notarized application.
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